Gotcha. I mis-read.
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Gotcha. I mis-read.
I think I read that the Bear upper is about 2oz more that one of the 9 mm uppers with the gas tube hole drilled.
How much are you budgeting for this rifle?
Also how long are your backpacking trips?
What would you use the rifle for on these trips?
How fit and an in shape are you yourself - are you carrying a few extra pounds?
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The questions may be a bit personal, but this whole thread reminds me of discussions people have in road bicycling where some guy wants to take 10 ounces off of his road bike frame and is willing to pay thousands for those ultimate 10 ozs yet he is 15 - 20 pounds overweight, doesn't use the bike in competitive races and never rides for more than 50 miles at a time...
And I've had the same thoughts about building an uber light AR too and decided against it...
Now if you just want the most lightest and bestest possible gun for the sake of having a cool light rifle regardless of cost or reliability then that's fine too.
I'm not carrying much (if any) extra weight, but I'm not a big guy. I'm 5'8", 135lbs soaking wet.
Trips range from five miles to fifty, mostly in to a base camp and day hike/fish/occasionally repelling, though some through-trips as well (most of the longer trips are through-trips).
Budget...I've thrown the CF barrel idea out the window, if anyone was wondering ($$$). I've decided (against my gut feeling and sense of aesthetics, but I could care less on that note) to get an LW profile barrel.
Budget...I'd say $1300 about.
I don't see why "trusting" a LW profile barrel would be an issue...we fought Vietnam with 'em. Not to mention, a 14.5" LW barrel will be a lot more rigid than the 20" A1s were. And a "backpacking carbine" isn't gonna be in a high volume firefight (even if it was...see "Vietnam" comment).
Cav Arms lowers seem to be pretty rugged...or a standard lower with the old style "Car" stock or M4 stock would be pretty light.
As far as sights...maybe skip irons all together. Use the Clark CF tube and just mount an Aimpoint H1 with a DD mount. Rugged, light, dependable.
Get a 6720 and be done with it!
Something like this may help you shave a few ounces.
http://www.lancer-systems.com/LCH.html
Might be a good idea to take a look at some of the practical ways to make a featherweight gun before going with the lunatic fringe items. ;)
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=39599
It sometimes helps to look in the box before starting to think outside of it.
withdrawn